Proper fitness for low-carb lifestyles
Jennifer Newton Reents
Most fitness experts agree that losing weight and maintaining the loss can be accomplished with diet and exercise. For those living low-carbohydrate lifestyles, however, moderate, not extreme, exercise is important.
"Doing the proper, mild to moderate exercise while eating low-carb can help your body become a 'fat burning machine,'" says Derek Alessi, author of Lose Fat Forever: The Only No-Nonsense Guide to Making Fat Loss Permanent.
Alessi states that exercise is key to maintaining any weight loss accomplished through diet alone. "I usually recommend my female clients to never exceed 30 minutes of cardio during one day, 20 minutes for men," says Alessi, who has helped more than 2,000 individuals — from pro athletes to the general public — get in shape. He says low-carbohydrate dieters will see the most benefits with moderate cardio and weight training three days per week.
Moderate cardiovascular exercise
Walking, biking, swimming about 30 minutes a day are all wonderful for low-carbers. Alessi says you don't want to do too much cardio at one time because it can have the opposite effect: more fat.
"Your body is always looking for the most abundant source of energy. After phosphogens and blood glucose have been depleted, the body can finally shift into stored body fat for energy; this is a good thing," he says. "However, if too much time is spent performing cardiovascular training, the body will look for a more abundant energy source, which is the muscles… If muscle is lost during long bouts of cardio, your metabolism will be slower."
Change it up
Once you have an exercise plan in place, Alessi says it is important to change your workout frequently — about every three weeks — so that your body does not plateau.
"Change your exercise selection, amount of weight or resistance, repetition range, sets and even rest interval," he says. "It is also good to incorporate big muscle groups and perform exercises that use many muscles such as: Squats, deadlifts, lunges and push-presses."
He says to seek the advice of a personal trainer if you are not familiar with how to perform these exercises.
Weight training
You need only only 10 minutes at a time, three days a week, says Jon Gordon, author of Become an Energy Addict: Simple, Powerful Ways to Energize Your Life, and energy coach (
www.energyaddict.com).
If you are eating a low-carb diet, during exercise your body will break down body fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates. "The process of breaking down your body fat is called 'ketosis,' which is associated with a decrease in water in your body," says Gordon. A strenuous cardio workout will also cause a significant loss of water, due to perspiration. "Without proper hydration, a low-carb diet with strenuous exercise could cause you to become dehydrated," he says.
"The lower the intensity level [of exercise], the greater percentage of fats the body uses as an energy source," says Molly Kimball, a registered dietician at Ochsner Clinic Foundation's Elmwood Fitness Center in New Orleans, explaining that low-carb dieters need a less strenuous workout to see results. "The higher the intensity level of exercise, the greater percentage of carbohydrates the body uses for energy."
Thirty-three year old Monica Rethman of Lawrence, Kansas, has been on a low-carb diet since January 2002. She met her goal of losing 45 pounds, and now uses exercise to maintain that loss. "I work out five to six days a week. I run three days a week and do weight training two to three days."
Michele Blaquiere, 29, of Brooks, Alberta, Canada, has lost 54 pounds so far on a low-carb diet she started in July 2003. "I (joined) a gym about three months after I started the diet because I had so much more energy, and I knew that if I didn’t exercise, I'd have hanging flabby skin," she says. "I wanted to start exercising so I'd be in a position to tone when I needed to."
Blaquiere visits the gym at least three times a week, walking on the treadmill and using weight machines. "I really find it makes me feel better about myself and more accomplished. And it does help with the weight loss, as well."
Don't forget to eat!
While you may be dieting, you still need to eat every three hours to keep your metabolism up, Alessi says. "Never skip breakfast or any meal. Drink half your weight in ounces of water daily. Limit alcoholic beverage consumption to two servings per week. And pay attention to limiting sugar, certain fats and carbohydrates. Eat a 'supportive' meal: lean protein, a slow-releasing carbohydrate and a vegetable, preferably green."
Stuart Lawrence Trager, MD, who serves as chairperson of the Atkins Physicians Council (APC), which provides expertise and guidance for the educational information products and programs about the Atkins Nutritional Approach(TM) says a combination of cardio and resistance weight training provides an effective strategy to improve overall health, preserve muscle mass and combat osteoporosis. Low-carb no-go
Experts agree that low-carb diets aren't recommended for:
-- Runners, defined as those who run marathons or train by running or walking many miles several times per week or every day.
-- Those on rigorous weight training or other physical training programs.
-- People with various medical problems should always check with a healthcare provider before starting any new nutritional, weight loss or fitness program.
-- Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should consult their healthcare provider first.
Dr Trager reminds low-carbers who work out to avoid the eating snacks or meals before exercise. "This common practice of eating something 'for energy' just before exercising has been shown to produce just the opposite effect, by raising blood sugar, which in turn stimulates greater insulin availability that drives the circulating blood glucose into the fat cells for storage, and lowering blood sugar levels," he says.
Instead, Dr Trager, who also serves as the founder of Elite Health & Wellness in Philadelphia, recommends eating higher glycemic meals up to four hours before exercising, or, at the very least, choosing to consume lower-glycemic snacks during that time period."
Alessi also advocates healthy snacks between meals to keep your metabolism chugging along, and suggests that those working out should have a protein shake — not protein bars — after working out and even between meals. "I usually look for a shake that contains a few different types of protein (i.e., whey isolates, casein, egg, milk protein isolates) so that maximum absorption is ensured," he says. "I cannot stress enough for people who are looking to lose weight and fat while eating low-carb to weight train and supplement their nutrition with a good protein powder."
Be sure you don't forget that your body needs some carbohydrates for energy -- it's your most immediate power source. "If you are not eating carbs and [you are] exercising hard and often, then your body is not getting the fuel it needs to support the output of energy," says Gordon. Some healthy, nutrient-dense carb sources include whole-grain bread, and produce such as apples, oranges and even bananas.
A day-brightener
"When it comes to exercise and the low-carb lifestyle, many people find that the increased energy and elevated mood as well as lessened gastro-intestinal and premenstrual symptoms that followers of this approach experience make exercise and fitness much more enjoyable," says Dr Trager. "There is also the dual advantage: As weight is lost, exercise becomes more enjoyable; and with exercise, many individuals find they can increase the amount of carbohydrates they can consume while still losing weight or maintaining weight loss."
So really, you can eat well, have fun… and still lose (or maintain) your weight. The low carb lifestyle – that is, both diet and exercise – makes it possible.
http://sheknows.com/about/look/2649.htm
This was a link from "LowCarb Energy" magazine's web-site (
http://sheknows.com/lowcarb/).
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Proper fitness for low-carb lifestyles
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